While I'm asking ...

It appears to me that the 'other' modes...landscape, portrait, etc... are 'crutches'. My wife seems to like to use them, but I prefer 'P' and 'Tv'... for everything.

Do you agree that the 'crutch' modes are just that...modes for those with even less photographic experience than...'us'...[who HAVE messed with Speeds/Aperatures/Ligh​tmeters/All those lenses] ??

Actually, all modes except Manual are crutches. I guess there is a pecking order as far as the biggest crutch.

Auto. Camera makes almost all decisions.

Scene modes. Camera makes all decisions based on the specific type or shot.

P allows many settings but the camera sets the shutter speed and aperture to achieve proper exposure.

Tv and Av allow you to set most settings. You set the desired exposure compensation and either the aperture or shutter setting and the camera chooses the other setting.

Manual forces you (or allows, depending on point of view) to make all settings including shutter and aperture. Once set, you half press to take an exposure reading. Note that on all other modes, exposure compensation is a SETTING. In Manual mode, exposure is a READING.

As each generation of camera is introduced, Auto mode does a better and better job of choosing the proper settings. As scene modes become more specific, the camera will do an even better job of adapting settings to a certain type of shot.

As cameras get better and better, skills we have worked hard to achieve will become moot. We will either enjoy the fact that we can take pictures without having to bother with the settings (thus enabling us to concentrate on composition) or bemoan the advancements because it reduces the difference between us and "snapshotters".

I'm somewhere in between.

All the various "scene modes" are more of a nuisance than a help.

For one thing, who can remember what each tiny icon is supposed to mean and what it does? Also, it's all too easy to turn the dial to one of those modes by mistake and screw up a photo.

It's another example of products being made so "feature rich" in pursuit of sales that the consumer gets turned off. You can find the same thing in every field from microwaves to cars to computers.

It's far better to learn a bit about photography and make settings yourself.

I appreciate the details... One of the things that did NOT come with the camera, was...the @#$% manual. It is supposed to be 'found' and delivered..but...

GTO-Guy wrote:
I appreciate the details... One of the things that did NOT come with the camera, was...the @#$% manual. It is supposed to be 'found' and delivered..but...

It only takes a few minutes to download any of the Canon Users Manuals for their cameras at the Canon Web Site.

Thanks, Bob! [Never dawned on me] I have just been going by Word of Mouth from my Kid..

IMHO, I'm going to disagree about scene modes being a crutch. I think you need to understand what each one does inorder to maximze its potential in a given situation. These are handy features that should not be ignored. I use Landscape, Portrait and Nightscene a fair amount when I feel the conditions are correct. There are still adjustments to be made with ISO, flash, focus, light metering, and compostion to get the results you want understanding for the most part that the camera will do a pretty good job with exposure, and keep you out of the RED zones.

I have to agree with "teekay" on this.

I firmly believe that we all have the innate capacity to learn, and it is always to our advantage to do so. I can think of a dozen reasons for not learning what the mode buttons do and another dozen reasons for learning how to do everything in manual.

To my way of thinking, it is in the same league as teaching a man to fish instead of just giving him one of your fish. After you give a man a fish, by tomorrow you are both back where you started.

Once you learn how to use the manual controls (there aren't many - just shutter speed and aperture - we let you slide on focusing), you never have to worry about being caught in a situation you cannot deal with.

Regardless of what the aperture and shutter priority modes think they are accomplishing, and regardless of how "fully automatic" Auto is, I can always think it out just as well as those modes can without straining my brain too much.

I think of it this way, in general - you either have enough light to use your controls freely or you're hurting for light. If you're hurting for light and have no chance of using a tripod, then you set up for 1/30 if you are really steady (otherwise 1/60) and then you start with wide open lens and start stopping down until it says you've got enough light and fire!
If you're already out of gas with 1/30 and wide open lens, just shoot anyway and pray for post processing.

When you aren't hurting for light, just decide whether it needs to be stopped or not. If it does then set a shutter speed just fast enough to stop it. Then go twiddle the lens, as above.

The last condition is that you've got plenty of light and there's no problem with freezing motion - in that case you take your lens to its sweet spot and adjust the shutter speed until the lightmeter says it's enough and fire!

The only thing I left out was that rare case where you are afraid of not having enough depth of field, so you stop down as far as you can go instead of using the sweet spot and then twiddle the shutter speed to give you the light you need.

That's not many things to learn, is it? I'll be surprised if it takes more than an hour to get those down pat, which includes being sure you really understand each one - not just memorize them.

Well said, Bob.